New York -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Embattled NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized Friday for what he said was his mishandling of the Ray Rice domestic violence scandal but vowed `` now I will get it right and will do whatever is necessary to accomplish that . ''

Speaking at a Manhattan news conference amid calls for his resignation , Goodell announced a sweeping policy to counter domestic abuse and sexual assault , mandating all players and staff on the league 's 32 teams undergo education and training about how to prevent abuse .

The announcement came as critics have questioned why Goodell had n't taken a tougher stand earlier . That would have sent an unequivocal statement about domestic violence in a league that , according to a Sports Illustrated article last week , includes 14 players who have been arrested for violence against women in the past two years .

Others have called for his job . But Goodell , in his first public remarks in more than a week , said he would not step down and was committed to `` do the right thing . ''

Goodell says he wo n't quit

`` I 'm focused on doing my job , '' he told reporters . `` We have a lot of work to do . ''

The policy is a direct response to a number of high-profile cases , including Rice 's , that involve NFL players .

Even as Goodell pledged to move ahead and `` get it right , '' questions loom in the Rice case about who knew what when , and who said what to whom .

Two security camera videos put the Rice case squarely in the public view , with the one most recently made public showing the former Baltimore Ravens ' star knocking out his then-fiancee with a punch inside an elevator last February .

A source within the Ravens organization told CNN Friday that hours after that incident at the Revel hotel and casino in Atlantic City , the head of Baltimore Ravens security , Darren Sanders , spoke with Atlantic City police . In that conversation , police described in detail the inside-the-elevator video to Sanders , the source said .

ESPN reported that Sanders shared the details of that conversation and the description of the video with team executives in Baltimore .

ESPN also reported team executives -- in particular owner Steve Bisciotti , President Dick Cass , and GM Ozzie Newsome -- began extensive public and private campaigns pushing for leniency for Rice on several fronts , from the Atlantic County judicial system to Goodell .

A source in the Ravens organization told CNN that team officials never saw the elevator video until TMZ released the recording .

The Ravens issued this statement late Friday : `` The ESPN.com ` Outside the Lines ' article contains numerous errors , inaccuracies , false assumptions and , perhaps , misunderstandings . The Ravens will address all of these next week in Baltimore after our trip to Cleveland for Sunday 's game against the Browns . ''

Commissioner : ' I got it wrong '

Asked Friday about a claim by the Atlantic County prosecutor 's office that it has no record of an NFL request for information on the case , Goodell said , `` We gather almost entirely all of our information through law enforcement , and that 's something else we 're going to look at ... We asked for it on several occasions . According to our security department , we went through it , we asked for it on several occasions . ''

The commissioner also sought to further distance himself from criticism over his handling of the Rice matter , saying the account of the incident the player gave the NFL was different than what was depicted in a video .

`` I 'm telling you right now it 's inconsistent with what he told us , '' Goodell said , declining to comment further on grounds that Rice 's indefinite suspension is under appeal by the players union . Goodell

Goodell said the events of recent weeks highlighted much of what is wrong with the league .

`` I got it wrong in the handling of the Ray Rice matter and I 'm sorry for that , '' he said . `` I 'm not satisfied with the way we handled it from the get-go . I made a mistake . I 'm not satisfied with the process we went through . I 'm not satisfied with the conclusion . ''

Katie Ray-Jones , president and CEO of the National Domestic Violence Hotline , told CNN after Goodell 's remarks that the league made a multimillion dollar commitment to the hotline .

Retired quarterback criticizes NFL

`` He 's admitting that he made a mistake and he 's working to correct it and they 're engaging many voices , '' she said of Goodell and the league .

But NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton on CNN Friday said he was doubtful of the league 's willingness to deal with domestic violence and other troubles .

`` Are we going to allow men to knock out women , abuse women , knock out children and we 're going to have to wait six months to get spin control and get some people in here and buy out some more people ? '' he said . `` I played for 18 years in this league . I 've seen coverups in this league just like we see in Washington and on Wall Street . And it continues . ''

Goodell , once viewed as a no-holds-barred enforcer who was called in to clean house , levied a mere two-game suspension against Rice , based on an initial video from outside the elevator that only showed Rice dragging Palmer out . Later , the new footage that showed the punch prompted Goodell to suspend the veteran player indefinitely .

Last week , amid mounting criticism , the league announced that former FBI Director Robert Mueller will lead an independent inquiry into the league 's investigation and how it gathered evidence in the case .

NOW : Mueller appointment ` window dressing '

Goodell on Friday dismissed questions about whether Mueller 's involvement with a law firm that has dealings with the league compromised the former FBI director 's investigation .

The National Organization for Women called Mueller 's appointment `` just window dressing , '' saying it did n't go far enough , and repeated its call for Goodell to resign .

It 's been a tumultuous week for the man at the helm of the NFL . With Ray Rice suspended indefinitely , the league saw three more of its players come under scrutiny over domestic violence or child abuse allegations . Two of those players were deactivated for their Sunday games .

Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings was deactivated after an East Texas grand jury indicted him on a child abuse charge . Peterson 's lawyer has said his client is innocent , and the Minnesota Vikings ' owners announced that Peterson will return to practice this week and is scheduled to play Sunday .

`` While I am disappointed in what Adrian Peterson was involved with , we want to see the facts , '' Goodell told reporters on Friday . `` What we have to do is allow those facts to succeed . ''

CNN 's Chelsea J. Carter , Morgan Winsor and Shimon Prokupecz contributed to this story .

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Source : Police described elevator video to Ravens security head

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Roger Goodell says he never considered resigning his post

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Goodell says he `` got it wrong '' in his handling of the Ray Rice scandal

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`` We will get our house in order , '' he said